


Quarter of a Century

by EliDeetz



Series: An Age Gap [2]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Date, Fluff, age gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 11:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11827602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliDeetz/pseuds/EliDeetz
Summary: Continuation of Camp Hope.Rafael finally makes the call, but is it the right one?





	Quarter of a Century

"No more calls, Carmen." He ordered right before putting down the phone for the umptieth time, tired and annoyed of dealing with so much of the same. 

Rafael reclined on his seat, raising his legs to rest them on top of the desk, knowing that no one was going to bother him at his office. That weekend he had lost going to camp caused him to lose 3 whole days, meaning that, when he came back on Monday, there was a pile of work to do waiting for him already. 

How?    
He had no idea.

Given it wasn't the first time that happened to him, he managed to get it all out of the way by Wednesday, so now he could afford to ignore all calls and rest a bit at his office. But after a moment of silence, he found himself skimming through the case files sitting around. Damned caffeine that kept his mind racing when he wanted to rest, maybe he shouldn't have had that 4th cup.

A heavy sigh left his chest while he tried to calm down, he placed his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes to try to focus on breathing. The scent of freshly cut grass, coffee and her wet hair invaded his mind. He could swear he could smell it as if he was still there. 

He opened his dark green eyes, immediately traveling to the little card placed right behind his name plate sitting at the edge of his desk. Ten little numbers neatly written in blue pen, her initials, and two, smaller written, x's at the bottom of the card. He bit his lower lip, debating on whether it would be appropriate to make the call already. It had been three days already, considering he wanted to call her the very same day that she got on her Uber and watched her drove away, so it wouldn't look desperate if he called her now. Would it?

He reached for the card, fidgeting with it once it was in his hands, the same weird flutter he started feeling in his stomach since he met her made presence once more. Card in hand and phone in the other, his eyes traveled from each back and forth, as he typed every number with care, trying to avoid making mistakes and accidentally calling a wrong number.

What if  _she_  gave him a fake number, though? The thought lingered in his mind right before he pressed the call button. No, she wouldn't. She offered her number when he asked, so she wouldn't do that. Would she?

"Carajo, Rafael." He muttered to himself, finally gathering enough courage to press the green button.

It started dialing. He waited. Too long, she was taking too long to answer.   
It's an unknown number, she's being careful.   
No, it's a fake number, of course it is. Why would someone like her want to talk to him again anyway-

"Hello?" 

The ADA felt as if all the air was pulled out of his lungs when he recognized her sweet voice, had se always sound that cute? He remained in silence, trying to come up with something to say.

"Hellooo?" She asked again, Rafael realized he'd been quiet too long.

"Hello, (Y/N)? It's me, Rafael." He rolled his eyes, lamest greeting ever.

"Oh!" Her sultry laugh was like music to his ears. "Rafael! I'm so glad you called, how have you been?" 

She was glad? Freaking jackpot, ADA Barba always making the right calls. "Mostly good, keeping up with work. Trying to stay out of trouble," he felt himself relaxing, leaning even more against his chair. He had this. 

"Keyword: trying," the girl teased, and he smiled stupidly at her joke.

"I fail sometimes, but what can I do? Part of the job." He pictured her smiling too, doing... well, whatever she did for a living. "What about you?"

He heard her hum before answering, while something rustled on the other line. "I've been busy with work, mostly. My job is not that exciting, so I've been staying out of trouble even if I don't want to." She laughed, one of his brows raised, and he bit his lip tentatively. 

"Really? Well," he hesitated, trying to gather the appropriate words for his next move. "I don't think it will be exactly thrilling, but would you like to meet me this Friday?" The ADA wanted to slap himself, he wanted to say  _go out with me,_ like a date, because that's what he wanted: a date. 

Damn it, he was overthinking  _again_.

(Y/N) remained quiet for a second, maybe two, but  _hell_  did it felt like two hours. Rafael found himself fidgeting with a pen that was at his reach, while feeling his intestines dancing and forming knots inside him.

"Of course, I'd love to," her voice was cheerful but shy. "Where?"

He released a breath he didn't knew he was holding, smiling widely as he quickly thought of a good place to see her. 

\---

A figure stood outside the bar, waiting for his companion to arrive. He'd said 8:30, yet he had arrived 20 minutes earlier, after he found himself finishing all of his work quicker than usual thanks to the excitement, and the desire of not wanting to arrive late for their first date. Rafael gripped his case nervously every time he saw a woman approach as time advanced, it was almost 8:45 and the stupid butterflies in his stomach were getting the best of him. 

He sighed heavily after every fake heart attack he suffered whenever he thought seeing her coming. His green eyes lowered to the ground, trying to find something to keep him from being a ball of nerves. He was so focused on breathing, he didn't hear the pair of heels tapping against the pavement towards him.

"Rafael?" Her voice made him snap his head from the floor to her, a silly smile pulling his lips as soon as he saw her. "I'm so sorry I'm late, I got caught up at work," she apologized, frowning slightly at him in concern.

Her outfit was completely different from what she wore in camp; a blue blouse, tight black pencil skirt, black pantyhose and blue heels. She looked effortlessly beautiful, but what really was making him breathless, was her smile. The ADA realized she hadn't wore make up at camp, for she was now wearing just enough to enhance her natural beauty.

"Rafael, are you mad?" (Y/N) snapped him out of his thoughts, and he couldn't help a hot blush to raise to his cheeks. He had been staring too long.

"No, no! Of course I'm not mad. You-you're perfect." His eyes opened wide at his own words, and he stuttered before continuing. "You're good, you're fine. On time. You're on time." 

(Y/N) laughed nervously, and he noticed her blushing as well. "I'm not, but I promise it won't happen next time," she declared with confidence.

"Next time?" Rafael bit his lower lip excitedly, "Remember anything you say can,  _and_ _will_ , be held against you," he teased, feeling himself gathering the confidence he had lost waiting for her. "Shall we?" He opened the door to the bar, signaling her to come in.

The place wasn't new to Rafael, but he surely hadn't been there more than a couple of times, so finding himself amongst college students mostly made him feel a tad insecure. If he was right, he was surely the oldest person in the place.

"So, how was your week?" She asked once they were sitting, placing her elbows on the table and resting her face on her hands, leaning towards him. Her body language showed she was beyond interested in listening to his life. 

He sat straighter on his chair, unbuttoning his suit jacket for better mobility, and leaned closer to her as well. There was no need to be so nervous, they had spent the weekend together, and shared several talks and meals. "Well, it seems that all the criminals in New York got together when we were at camp to mess everything up. I came to the office on Monday to find seven cases waiting for me."

Her beautiful eyes went wide at his tale, he couldn't help a smile overpowering his face. "Seven? How do you manage  _seven_  cases?"

"With lots of effort, querida. And coffee." The attorney hoped his joke would mask the fact he let a pet name slip, as much as he wanted to address her in a more intimate way, he was afraid it would be too bold of him to do so.

"Figures," she laughed, her eyes shyly drifting from him to her to the side. "I can’t even handle the paperwork of more than three cases at the time, let alone seven."

"What do you do? For a living, I mean," he asked, finally able to clear the mistery of her life. They really didn't talk much about her at camp.

"Oh, I'm an assistant at Manhattan Psych Hospital. I'm really glad to be working there, but it can get a little heavy when classes start."

"Classes?" Rafael frowned, what did classes had to do with anything?

"Yea-yeah, college. It just a little too much sometimes," she explained hesitantly, not really knowing what was so weird about being in college.

"Wha-" he was interrupted by the waiter, who approached them to ask for their orders.

"Good evening, sorry for the delay, we are a little full." The guy was tall and skinny, with black messy hair and wide eyes. He reminded him of Carisi, they even had the same silly grin. "What can I get you?" He asked, a little more interested on (Y/N) than anything.

"Oh, I'll have a Rosé, please." She smiled politely, turning to Rafael.

"Scotch, neat." He simply requested, trying to make the waiter leave with his eyes.

"Right away." The waiter turned to leave, but a second after turned towards them again, squinting slightly at her and trying not to smile. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but (Y/N), right?" He asked, seemingly embarrassed as he felt Rafael's eyes piercing through him.

"Yes..." She answered, confused as she turned between him and his date. "Do I know you?" 

"Yeah, it's John. John Molden, we were together in high school." The guy scratched the back of his neck nervously, trying to relax.

(Y/N) squinted as she tried to remember him, immediately smiling widely at the guy as the engines on her brain seemed to click. "Oh, my God! Boss, it's really you!"

"Boss?" Rafael laughed, a brow quirking in amusement. 

"Yes, we used to call him Boss because he was always the tallest and wiser." She laughed as well, placing a hand on the waiter's shoulder excitedly. "How have you been? It's been so long!"

"Great, I'm graduating from Columbia in Political Sciences next semester. What about you? Tony mentioned you want to go there too, still working to transfer?" 

Their conversation was making Rafael more and more confused, as a lingering thought became heavier on the back of his brain. 

**How old was she really?**

"It was your birthday recently, wasn't it Boss?" She asked, and Rafael saw his window of opportunity.

"So," he interrupted their conversation, not willing to be in the dark anymore. "You two met in high school, same grade?" It was the only way he could deduct her age without directly asking.

"No, he was actually a grade above me, with our other friends." The girl happily explained, "they left me when they graduated from high school and will do it yet again graduating from Columbia at 25. Couldn't you even try to not be a huge nerd and finish a year later maybe?" She teased, pushing her friend playfully.

"25," Rafael frowned. 

In an instant, it clicked. It was so sudden he had to bit his tongue to avoid a very shocked  _what?_  to escape from his mouth. He was 15 years older than her. Sixteen, actually, giving she was actually 24. Rafael tried to find something to say, as everything around them seemed to turn oddly quiet. 

"Rafael?" Her voice was a noise in a room far away from him. "Rafael are you okay?" 

"What?" He blinked repeatedly at her, realizing the one that had one mute was him, the skinny waiter and her date looked at him with concern on their faces. "I mean, yes. Why?" 

"You seem a little pale, are you sure you're okay?" She placed her hand on top of his, a rush of electricity traveled through his body because of her touch.

With a quick movement, he turned his wrist, taking her soft, small hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm good, just need to go to the restroom really quick." The ADA stood from his seat, trying to focus on not falling down as he made his way to the restrooms. 

As he closed the door behind him, he decided looking himself at the mirror was the first thing that could help him set his mind on the moment. She was younger than him, _so_ ** _much_** younger. Why didn't he ask her before?  _That would've been creepy, Rafael._ A voice at the back of his head answered almost immediately. 

_Olivia would kill me,_  that truthful voice spoke once again.  _You were in college when she was born,_ the voice was now Olivia's. 

But then he suddenly found himself relaxing, why was he making such a big deal of this anyway? She was an adult, and over the course of their weekend together, he had realized she was so much more than some college student. They were taking things slow, and it seemed to him that the interest he had in her was reciprocated. 

Rafael took a long breath, deciding it didn't had to be the big deal he was making it to be already. He started to laugh at himself, when realizing that the crush he had for her was bigger than some stupid age gap. He was willing to keep it up as long as she didn't feel uncomfortable, or gave any kind of sign that there was nothing else than a friendship. Even if that was the case, Rafael knew a friendship would suffice, for she was kind, smart, and funny. And it had been a long time since he felt so relaxed with someone.

Decidedly, he made his way back to the table, realizing their drinks were already waiting for him. He watched her rolling her glass of wine nervously, the pout he adored present on her berry painted lips. "Is everything okay?" He asked as he took his seat, and observed how her pout turned into a soft smile.

"I don't know, is it?" Her brows furrowed, while the smile slowly faded.

"Yes, I apologize. Is just, I realized I haven't had a good meal since 2 p.m." That was half the truth.

"Oh, Rafael! Let's order something, then." Her concern was almost palpable as she looked around for a waiter. "I'm sure they only have appetizers, but you should get something anyway."

He smiled at her, seeing how she relaxed when thinking that was the only reason he had momentarily freaked out. "I should've picked a better place for our date."  **Damned** **Freudian** **slips**. "Like a restaurant I mean, knowing we were both getting out of work." He hoped his fast words would save him from embarrassment. Apparently, the college student with the crazy hormones was  _him_.

"So, this  _is_  a date." (Y/N) almost whispered, a bright red blush adorning her cheeks. 

"If you want it to be," he replied almost immediately, listening to his own heart loudly beating on his ears. 

"Honestly, I'm just here to give you your shirt back and bolt, but I'll consider your offer." She stated confidently, taking a sip of her wine as she turned her head to the side.

Rafael's laugh filled the silence she left behind, causing her to laugh as well. "You should know, Miss (Y/LN), I don't usually offer pleas like this one; but if you accept, I'll make sure the next one is much better than the one before." 

He took her free hand on his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb, hoping the warmth he felt on his skin with her touch was being felt by her as well. His green eyes staring deeply into hers. 

"Well, if you put it like that, how could I ever refuse?"

\---

A couple of drinks in, three rounds of appetizers, and a game of back and forth flirting, they had decided to call it a night, giving he had to be at the office on Saturdays as well. 

While they waited for their check to arrive, a question popped on the back of Rafael's mind. "May I ask you something?" He lowered his eyes to the whiskey on his hand, while the other one remained entangled with hers at the middle of the table. 

"Go ahead." She smiled warmly at him, a permanent blush on her cheeks thanks to the alcohol on her system.

"When we were at camp, and you passed out –" he licked his lip, not really liking remembering what he felt when seeing her fall. "Ryan, seemed particularly concerned." Before continuing she noticed her tensing up, feeling more decided to continue. "Had you met before?"

She tensed her jaw slightly, taking the last sip of her wine before answering. "We had," she stated, lowering her beautiful eyes at their holding hands. "We were friends. Until we weren't."

His brows furrowed in confusion, not really knowing if he should keep asking. "He was my professor a couple of semesters ago, I was struggling with a lot of things at once, and he noticed." She began to explain, feeling Rafael deserved to know more. "He was with me through a lot of difficult stuff, including the death of a loved one." 

"I'm sorry," he said without thinking about it, tilting his head apologetically for interrupting her.

(Y/N) merely nodded, accepting his apology with a sweet smile as she kept talking: "But then," her smile turned bitter, and her eyes sad. "It took me a long time to realize he had an ulterior motive for helping me." 

"Did he –" Rafael interrupted one more time, gripping her hand tightly as he tried to find the correct wording for his question. 

"He never tried to do anything to me," she clarified instantly, having well present what his job was. "But he did blamed me for  _being a tease."_ Her jaw clenched harshly, "I thought he was my friend."

Green eyes stared at her compassionately, but there was still a spark of anger trying to crept through them. "I apologize, I shouldn't be talking about this. I don't mean to put shame on his name," she added after a moment of silence, seemingly ashamed for her outburst. "I just hadn't told anyone about this before, and you just..." 

"It's fine, you're not the one to blame. It's not your fault he saw things that weren't there, it happens all the time, and the easier thing to do is to blame the woman." Rafael's voice was soothing and calm, he now held both her hands on his. 

A small smile pulled her lips, while a warm, fuzzy feeling filled her chest. "You're way too lovely, you know that?" She asked, taking his hands and raising them up to her lips. 

"I sure hope that's not the Rosé speaking," he added nervously, leaning even closer to her, their lips only separated by their hands.

Their intimate moment was interrupted by an overly-wasted guy, who crashed against (Y/N), almost making her fall from her stool. She glared at the drunk, who immediately caught her eye and didn't thought twice about placing an arm across her shoulders.

"Hey, sugar. Here with ya' dad?" He snorted, glancing at Rafael sitting across her.

With a quick motion, she removed his heavy arm from her body, firmly pushing him away. "Excuse me, I'm in a date." The alcohol gave her strength and bravery she didn't know she had in her.

"Date??" His cackles resounded on her ears, not realizing Rafael was now standing to take her away from the guy. "What'sa pretty quarter like you doin' with a dollar like him?" 

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" She snapped, while the ADA placed an arm across her waist to place her behind him. The drunk was more than a couple of inches taller than him, but he didn't care, there was now a rage building up inside of him. 

"Ya' know damn well what I mean. He's like a hundred, ain't he, sugartits?" 

The nickname had done it. 

A second before Rafael's fist met the sasquatch's face, John and couple more waiters grabbed the drunk and forced him out of the bar through the back door, the rest of his friends following closely. (Y/N)'s scared gasp forced him out of his trance, obliging him to regain composure and hold her in his arms. "Let’s get out of here," his voice was thick and low. 

Once outside he felt her drift away, she placed himself in front of him, and he could see tears forming on her eyes. 

"Rafael, I know I'm a lot younger than you," she boldly stated, her lower lip forming a pout. "And I really didn't give it a big thought until right now, I realize how problematic it can be. You have a respectable job, and it's not appropriate to date someone that could place you in situations like this one. Placing you between me and a drunk."

He opened his mouth to talk, but there was nothing stopping her now. "Don't, I saw the face you made when you figured my age." She kept quiet for a moment, but not enough to give him a chance to speak. "I never meant to keep it a secret, it wasn't my intention to do so. I suddenly realized I hadn't told you, and I felt terrible about it." She sniffed, trying to fight back the drunk tears coming her way.

"I really, really like you. But I'm just a college student with stupid part-time jobs, I don't feel it's good enough for someone so amazing like you." The words were leaving her mouth like vomit, she closed her eyes as she felt the last of it coming out. "It doesn’t matter how much I like you, you have your life made and you can't have someone like me getting you into trouble. So, I'm giving you an out."

"An out?" He finally was able to say something, but now he didn't really understood what she was trying to say.

"I really like you, and I had a great time at camp, and tonight, even better. But, I don't really think you should be with someone like me," her words lingered in the air. "You're beyond amazing, and I'm just glad I met you."

Rafael stood frozen in place, as he watched her beautiful face tarnished by thick tears, and the rain that had started to fall around them.

\---

The morning was quiet and cozy, getting out of bed after 9 a.m. was one of the best feelings in the world. His moment of peacefulness was interrupted as his phone rang, seeing his assistant's name flashing on the screen made him feel obliged to pick up. "Carmen, I believe I told you I was taking the day," he was calmed and polite, knowing it wasn't her fault she had to call his private number.

"I know, Mr. Barba. But she's here again, and not willing to go until you see her." His assistant's voice was stressed and trembling, seemingly nervous of being in that situation.

"I won't be coming by the office," Rafael asserted, rolling his eyes as he waited for a fresh pot of coffee to be done.

"She won't leave." Carmen repeated herself, trying her best not to raise her voice to avoid being heard by the woman.

"Well, tell her that, if she wishes, she's welcomed to wait there until tomorrow. I don't have the time today, I have more important things to do." He was being a little louder, hoping that he'd be heard to help Carmen. "Even tomorrow we'll have to see if I have a chance to talk to her," he added, an annoyed smile pulling his lips. 

"Okay, Mr. Barba."

"Have a nice one, Carmen. Feel free to take the day, as well." He finally smiled as he poured the coffee in his cup. "Whether she decides to stay or not."

With that, he hung up the phone and proceeded to turn it off, there was nothing that was going to take his mind away from this. The ADA was determined to enjoy the day as he walked back to his bedroom, a big cup of coffee in hand.

He stood at the entrance of the room, taking a moment to watch her peacefully sleeping on his bed. A wide smile was painted across his face as he observed her hugging a huge pillow and her beautiful hair sprawled over her face. Rafael got on the bed carefully, not wanting to disturb her too much.

"Who called?" Her question made him jump slightly, not expecting her to be awake already. 

"Carmen," he answered, placing a soft peck on top of her head. "Yelina's at the office again." He sat next to her, watching her stretch and trying to open her sleepy eyes.

Her eyes opened wide at his answer, and her brows raised in amazement. "Again? Does she not know you have no power over what happened to her husband?" She huffed, raising just enough to place her face on her hands, resting on her elbows.

"Beats me," his answers were short as he took advantage of her new position to kiss her soft lips, and some other parts of her face. "And her too, apparently." He laughed on her lips, causing her to do as well. "But that doesn't matter, not today." Rafael murmured between kisses, while his free hand pulled out something out of nowhere, and placed it in front of her.

It was a black, carboard, little box. He smiled devilishly at her, a spark on his eyes she recognized whenever he did something he maybe shouldn't. "What is this?" She asked, taking the box on her hands and analyzing it before doing anything else.

"Don't know, open it." His penetrating green eyes stared at her, and he sipped his coffee.

After a moment of fidgeting with the box, she placed it on one of her hands, while taking the top off with the other one. Her eyes squinted as she smiled widely at the coin on the box shinning back at her, then glancing towards Rafael, who was now trying to repress a laugh. "Very funny," she failed to avoid laughing as well. 

"It was made the year you were born," he explained, taking the coin from its box and showing it to her a little closer. Coming close to her face once again to kiss her, a deeper, more meaningful kiss this time.

"I was so drunk that day, I laughed like an idiot over the whole quarter-dollar analogy right after offering you the out." She pouted, and he couldn't help smiling as he placed pecks on her lower lip.

"Happy Quarter of a Century, mi amor." He felt her smiling, knowing that a little over year ago, he had made the best choice of his life. "Feliz cumpleaños." 

**Author's Note:**

> This was so fun to write, I hope you enjoyed the series and I don't know maybe will write some one shots about these two someday.
> 
> The Rafael stories will keep on coming, he's definitely one of my favorite characters to write from now on.
> 
> Thanks to everybody that read my series and I hope you enjoyed as much as I did writing it!


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